Harry leads me down the hall and to a room near the very end of the hall. I expect him to pull out a key and unlock the door, but he doesn't. He just pushes it open, it wasn't even locked. He gestures for me to go inside, and I do, thanking him for being polite and letting me go in first.
"You don't lock the door?" I ask, fumbling around in the pitch black room. I hear Harry shut the door behind me, and I'm thankful when he flicks on a light directly after. I blink a few times, adjusting my eyes.
"No, there's not really a reason to. Nothing in here's all that important to me," he explains. This being said, I take a look around.
The room looks like your average hotel room, maybe just a bit more homey. There's a large king sized bed in the middle, perfectly made and in order. A nightstand sits on either side of the bed, a lamp on each one, along with an alarm clock on the left one. There's an arm chair, it's material matching the duvet on the bed. There's also an entertainment center, stocked with a flat screen, DVD player, and satellite receiver. Two doors and a window are on the fat side of the room, I'm assuming the doors are a bathroom and closet.
"This is really nice," I whisper, still looking around. Harry nods.
"Yeah, it gets kind of lonesome sometimes. Everyone comes and goes from watching their person." He laughs soon after he says this. "I make it sound like we're a bunch of stalkers."
I laugh along with him, and say, "Well, to a degree you are. You spend almost everyday watching over a person who you'll just die without." We both laugh again at my dramatic tone.
Harry plops down on his back on the bed, and crosses his arms behind his head. "Have a seat," he tells me, kicking his boots off.
I comply, stretching out beside him and watching the ceiling fan spin round.
"I think I need some answers," I say suddenly, and I feel Harry turn his head towards me.
"Yeah," he whispers, and he reaches for my hand. I'm about to pull away, remembering what I told myself earlier about getting my thoughts straight, but stop myself. I want to hold his hand as much as he wants to hold mine. I should allow myself the simple pleasures of that.
"What do you want to know?" He asks me, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. I think for a moment, trying to find a stopping point.
"Bennett," I immediately say. "Tell me about him." I hear Harry sigh.
"When I was five, he was supposed to be at a friend's house. The two of them snuck out to meet some guys a few years older than them, and they were playing truth or dare," he pauses, and I wait patiently for him to pick back up.
"One of the guys, an idiot, dared Bennett to jump into one of the neighbor's pools. So he agreed, and all of them snuck past the fence and to the pool area. Bennett was always a show off. He always had to impress everyone," Harry laughs, talking slower and slower by the second. "He decided to get up on the diving board, and dive into the pool." Harry pauses again, and doesn't say anything for a long time. How could this have resulted in the death of his brother?
"How did he d-" I start, but he cuts me off.
"The pool was empty, Madelynn."
I gasp. How awful. I can only imagine how Harry must have felt, losing his older brother like that. I squeeze his hand comfortingly.
"Did you know he was a Guardian?" I ask him, wanting to understand even more.
"No. Not until I had already agreed to being one myself. I found him here, and he explained everything to me, that they didn't explain in The Hall."
This brought up my other question. "What is The Hall?" I ask him, he brings my hand to his lip, and kisses my knuckles gently. Why is my stomach fluttering?
It's the place we all went when we died. The place you go when you feel as if you weren't ready to die, like you needed another chance at life. It's where you agree to be a Guardian," he mumbles against my skin. I nod. I understand so far.
"Addison said that the Guardian got to pick out the person they watch over. Why'd you pick me?" I ask him, turning my head to look at him. "How did you even know I existed?"
He smiles, and turns his head to meet my gaze. "I knew your dad," he says, his grin growing wider. My eyes widen in shock. He knew my dad? My dad knew Harry? Many more questions sprouted in my mind like weeds, clouding my every thought, so that I couldn't even process what I wanted to ask.
"Really? Were you friends?" I ask excitedly, not knowing what to think of the new information.
He laughs. "Yes. Did you know he went to college in England?" He asks me and I shake my head, dumbfounded. Why didn't I know any of this?
"We went to University together. He was with me that night. The night I died," he says, staring up at the ceiling fan. He now rubbed his cheek against my hand, his cold, smooth skin sending electricity through me.
"He was a good friend of mine. I was going to choose him, but for some reason, I didn't. I chose his baby girl," he turns and looks at me, a look in his eyes so intense I can't look away.
"I love you. So much. I wouldn't want to have this any other way, Madelynn. If I could take that night back, get my old life back, I wouldn't. It's not worth it. Because now, I have you."
My heart flutters at his words. It beats harder in my chest, and I get a sick feeling in my stomach.
Allow yourself to feel it, Madelynn. A voice in my head tells me.
You love him. It says again.
I know the voice is right. I've fallen for Harry, and I've known it all along. I've known it since the night the incident with Storm happened. I just haven't allowed myself to accept it. I realize now that I have to, I can't stand not to any longer.
"I love you, Harry," I whisper, my voice hoarse. His eyes widen, and the most beautiful smile spreads across his face. I close my eyes as he roughly brings his lips to mine.
YES MADARRY YES YES YES
Oh yeah and you guys got some answers. If any of you don't understand what's going on, comment, and I'll do an authors note later on trying to explain
